Effects of Personal Lecture Notes and Teacher‐notes on Recall of University Students

S ummary . Two experiments studied the effects of note‐taking, strategy of note‐taking (short/long notes) and reviewing personal notes and/or simplified teacher‐notes on immediate and delayed recall. One hundred and sixty university students, classified as either short or long note‐takers, served as subjects. They listened to a recorded lecture and then their immediate and delayed retention was assessed by means of the free recall test. Analysis of results revealed that the act of note‐taking has facilitative effects on both immediate and long‐term recall. Free recall scores of subjects who took short notes in their normal lectures tended to be significantly higher than those who took long notes. Reviewing personal lecture notes and/or simplified and organised teacher‐notes facilitates delayed recall.